Müritz - Germany´s second largest lake, with a national park on its eastern shore

"Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft" ("Western Pomeranian Lagoons") National Park on the coast between Rostock and Rügen

Jasmund National Park on Rügen Island

Understand

Talk

In the larger cities (especially Rostock) you can get around well with English. Elsewhere, only younger people regularly understand English, so learning a few basic German phrases can be helpful. Mecklenburg and German Pomerania are home to many Low German dialects still spoken in rural areas.

Get in

By air

Rostock airport (Laage, RLG) has few international flights, so the best choice are usually the airports of Berlin and Hamburg.

By train

Trains from Hamburg and Berlin to the major cities (Rostock, Schwerin, Stralsund) leave every 1-2 hours. There are also regular train connections from Poland (Szczecin).

By boat

From Denmark (Gedser) there are frequent ferry connections to Rostock. Trelleborg in Sweden has several departures a day to Rostock and Sassnitz on Rügen Island. There are also ferry lines from several Eastern Baltic ports, primarily to Rostock.

By car

The fast motorway network (Autobahn) has been considerably extended during the last years and all larger cities now have excellent connections. In the summer months, especially on weekends, the motorways and all roads to the coast can be congested.

Get around

The train network is well developed and even smaller towns have regular connections. Take some time though - a 50km ride can take an hour or more, which is considerably longer than elsewhere in Germany. Bus connections are usually only available when no concurring train service is present and many lines are infrequent. In rural areas, travelling by car is the most comfortable way to get around. The quality of the roads is generally very good. Locals often drive aggressively, disrespecting speed limits and overtaking recklessly.

A very interesting way to get around is by bicycle. There are special touristic bikeways along the Baltic coast and from Berlin to Rostock. Most regular roads also make attractive bike routes. Main roads often have separate bicycle lanes beside them. If they don't, keep off - riding there is both dangerous and unpleasant!

See

the hanseatic cities on the Baltic coast, namely Wismar, Stralsund, Rostock and Greifswald are well worth a visit.